Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 12,019 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,706 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,019 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $45,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $20,056,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% in the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $3.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $960.89. 3,240,929 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,934,416. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $582.83 and a fifty-two week high of $976.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $902.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $867.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $425.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.